Bosporan kingdom- an ancient state on the banks of the modern. Kerch Strait ( Bosporus Cimmerian). Formed by Greek colonial cities founded during the Great Greek colonization on the European and Asian shores of the strait: Panticapaeum, Mirmekiem, Feodosia, Kepami(colonists from Miletus), Hermonassa(the only Aeolian colony), Phanagoria(colonists from Teos), Nymphaeum(colonists from the island of Samos). The settlement of the shores of the strait began at the beginning of the 6th century. BC e. and continued until the end of the century and later (Fanagoria is the largest policy Asian Bosporus, founded c. 540 BC e.). There were also smaller cities - Tiritaka, Diya, Kitey, Kimmerik, Porfmiy, Partheny, Tiramba, Acre, Stratoclea, Heracles, Zenon Chersonesus, Achilles, Patreus, Baty, Zephyry. Some appeared in the VI century. BC e., others - in the course of the so-called secondary colonization, i.e., the expansion of the agrarian territory of previously emerged policies. Most of the "small" cities of the Bosporus appeared no earlier than the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th century. BC e.

Ruins of ancient Kitey

Initially, large cities - Panticapaeum, Nymphaeum, Hermonassa, Phanagoria - existed independently: they had their own agrarian periphery, authorities, civil collectives, they minted coins, that is, they were classical Greek policies, the same as in Greece and Asia Minor. Along the shores of the strait and in the depths of the mainland lay fertile lands that yielded rich crops of grain (some of them were inhabited by settled Scythians- farmers, Meotians and sindami). In addition, the Kerch Strait, the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea had the richest fish stocks, fishing and exporting fish also brought considerable income. Such wealth attracted more and more merchants and artisans to the Bosporus, turning the largest policies into centers of crafts and trade and strengthening social and property stratification there. By the beginning of the 5th century BC e. as a result of the arrival of new settlers in large cities, layers of impoverished citizens were formed, some of which, due to the limited polis holdings, were deprived of land. This forced them to move outside the policies and gave impetus to the founding of "small" Bosporan cities and the expansion of the territory.
The strengthening of the positions of the nobility, which was especially pronounced in Panticapaeum, the largest policy of the Bosporus, led to the establishment tyranny. In 480 BC e. there came to power the Archeanactid dynasty, headed by a certain Archeanact, a representative of one of the noble families, probably of Milesian origin. The reign of the Archaeanaktids was the beginning of the creation of a unified B. c., but their primary task was to push the Scythians on the European coast of the strait in order to increase the chora subject to Panticapaeum, including by annexing nearby small towns and settlements. In the first half of the 5th c. BC e. Mirmekiy passed under the authority of Panticapaeum, probably, the same fate befell Tiritika, Porfmiy, Partheny and Zenon Chersonesus. As a result, the lands subject to the Panticapaeum community expanded, and this made it possible for the tyrants to take control of part of the European coast of the Kerch Strait in order to further begin penetrating the Meotian (Azov) coast of the Rocky Chersonese, as the Hellenes called the Kerch Peninsula. The influence of Panticapaeum also extended to the Asian side of the strait, but this part of the Bosporus remained independent for the time being.


Coin from Panticapaeum.
3rd century BC e.

The strengthening of centralizing tendencies in the second quarter - the middle of the 5th century. BC e. coincided with the maritime and military-political heyday of Athens after the victory in Greco-Persian War. The Athenian state sought to gain a foothold in the Black Sea straits, the Black Sea coast and in Thrace. However, the Athenian penetration into the Bosporus was hindered by the policy of the Archaeanactids, which expressed the economic interests of the local nobility associated with insular and Asia Minor Greece. Anticipating the benefits of trade with the Bosporus, Athens tried to change the economic and social policies of the tyrants who ruled there.
In 438 BC e. a coup d'etat took place in Panticapaeum, the power of the Archaeanactids was overthrown and the reign of Spartocus, the founder of a new dynasty, began Spartokids, who ruled B. c. until the end of the 2nd century. BC e. The circumstances of the new dynasty coming to power, its origin (modern researchers consider them Greek-Thracians or Greek-Iranians), the fate of the Archaeanactids (it is known that some “exiles” from the Bosporus lived in the still independent Theodosia), the role of the Athenians in political confrontation in Panticapaeum (a coup d'état happened a year before the naval expedition of the leader of the Athenian democracy Pericles in Pontus) are unknown. Under Spartocus and his successors, the policy aimed at creating a single centralized state intensified, which led to the deepening of trade and political ties with Athens. The regime of the Spartokids, like that of their predecessors, the Archaeanactids, was a polis tyranny that matured in Panticapaeum, which for a long time remained its socio-economic base.
The Athenians, however, did not immediately include the Spartocids in their circle of allies. First, they achieved the transfer of Nymphaeum under their control, where, according to tradition, they brought cleruchia and put their governor, and then included in the First Athenian Maritime Union, along with other cities that did not obey the tyrants of Panticapaeum - Patreus (or Patrasius), Cimmeric, Hermonassa, Tiramba (or Tiritaka). Neither Panticapaeum, nor Phanagoria, nor other small policies that were in the sphere of influence of these cities, were obviously included in the Athenian allies, therefore the Athenian power was not able to fully involve the Bosporus in the pro-Athenian policy.
Having seized power, Spartok I (438-433 BC) did not take any serious foreign policy steps, as he was busy strengthening his own position. And only his brother and successor Satyr (433-389 / 388 BC) began to expand the possessions of Panticapaeum in the south and on the Asian side of the strait. OK. 405 BC e. he achieved inclusion in the B. c. Nymphaeum, in order to take control of the crossing of the Kerch Strait, which was nearby, for further expansion into Sindika. A little earlier or about this time, the city of Kepy on the Taman Peninsula passed under the rule of Satir, becoming an outpost for expansion on the Asian side. Nymphaeum fell into the hands of Satyr after going over to his side Gilon, the Athenian ruler in Nymphaeum, the maternal grandfather of the famous Athenian orator Demosthenes. Gilon was condemned for this in Athens, but went to Satyr, who received him with honor and appointed him governor of Kepa. Since that time, the rapprochement between Spartokids and Athens began, where representatives of the Panticapaeum elite began to travel on commercial matters. This was facilitated by the defeat of the Athenians in Peloponnesian War and the need for grain supplies from the Bosporus.
Having strengthened his position in Eastern Taurica, having taken possession of Nymphaeum and his chorus, keeping Kepa under control and establishing friendly relations with the Kingdom of Sind, Satyr undertook a campaign against Feodosia, a major port through which grain was exported. It was under the protectorate of Heraclea Pontica, the largest policy in the South. The Black Sea region, fed by mediation from the North Pontic wheat trade. Satyr took this step in the interests of Athens, who did not want to share the profits from trade with the Heraclean oligarchs. Heraclea did not reconcile, Satyr could not take Theodosius on the move and was forced to begin a long-term siege. As a result of the growing Bosporan-Heraclean conflict, the relations of the tyrant with the Greeks and the Sindo-Meotian population of the Asian Bosporus worsened: in 403-389 BC. e. Phanagoria began to mint autonomous coins, retained the autonomy of Hermonasses, it was restless in Sindik, where Satyr's ally, King Hekatey, was overthrown from the throne. The Bosporan tyrant succeeded in placing him on the throne again, and in order to strengthen the Sindo-Bosporan alliance, he married his daughter to Hecataeus, demanding the removal of his former wife, Queen Tirgatao from the Meotian tribe of the Xomats.


Drachma from Phanagoria.
4th century BC e.

The latter started a war with Hecateus and Satyr, gathering many Meotian tribes under her rule and devastating the Sind kingdom and the Asian possessions of Satyr with raids. At the cost of persistent diplomatic efforts, Satyr managed to achieve a truce, but the Meots continued the war. The result was the accession around 389 BC. e. Phanagoria and other Greek cities of the Asian Bosporus, but the tyrant could not conquer Sindika and take possession of Theodosia. He died around 388/387 BC. e., and his sons Levkon and Gorgipp had to complete what they started.
By the beginning of the 2nd quarter of the 4th c. BC e. Leucon victoriously ended the war with Heraclea, and around 360 BC. e. Theodosius was in his power. His brother Gorgipp managed to make peace with Tirgatao and, as governor of the Asian Bosporus, began the process of annexing the Kingdom of Sind, founding the city of Gorgippia (modern Anapa) in the Sind Harbor.


Excavations of Gorgippia

At the same time, Levkon advanced on Sindika from the north and subjugated one of its important urban centers - Labryta (now the Seven-Brat settlement). The annexation of Theodosia, Phanagoria and other cities of the Asian Bosporus, as well as Sindika and the Meotian tribes in the Kuban region, completed the creation of a single B. c., which was started by Satyr and completed by Levkon I, whom the Greeks considered a brilliant ruler. By the nature of B. c. It was a union of Hellenic cities - a symmachy, headed by the tyrant of Panticapaeum, the capital of B. c. Officially, he was called "the archon of the Bosporus and Theodosius", and the Greek cities and their choirs were meant by the Bosporus, and Theodosius was singled out as the most important trading port, attached to the symmachy by force and later than the rest of the lands. Even later, Levkon included in the title an indication that he was the "archon of Sindica", thereby emphasizing her accession even later to Theodosius. Finally, the full official title of Spartokids was fixed in everyday life: “archons of the Bosporus and Theodosius, kings of the Sinds and all Meots” (or individual tribes of Meotian origin). So by the middle of the IV century. BC e. B. c. was formed, located along the shores of the Kerch Strait, the Black and Azov Seas - from the modern. Old Crimea and the foothills of Taurica to the spurs of the Caucasus and the city of Novorossiysk.
Under Leukon I (388/387–347 BC), an advantageous alliance was concluded with the Scythians, and the political and economic flourishing of the B. c. It became the main supplier of grain to Athens and other states of the East. Mediterranean. The ruler of the Bosporus granted Athenian merchants and merchants who did business in the interests of Athens the right to export grain duty-free and the right to be the first to load ships, and from other merchants he took 1/30 of the cost of goods in the form of a duty. For merchants from Mitylene on Lesbos, more favorable duties were established - the usual one in the amount of 1/60 of the value of the goods and a reduced 1/90 if the cost of exported bread reached 10 talents, that is, 2-3 times less than for others merchants. The Athenians annually received from the Bosporus about 400 thousand medimns of bread, while at the price it turned out that from 300 thousand medimns 10 thousand medimns and from 100 thousand medimns 3 thousand medimns of grain came as if for free. The volumes of grain supplies were also large: from Feodosia alone, Levkon once sent 2.1 million medimns of bread to Athens. For this, the Bosporan tyrant and his sons, under whose supervision the grain was exported, received the rights of Athenian citizenship, and the Bosporan merchants - the right of duty-free and priority loading in ports. The children of Leukon - Spartok II and Perisades I - continued the policy of active ties with Athens and promised them not to stop the supply of grain and even increase them, for which the Athenians showered them with awards and money and retained the privileges enjoyed by their grandfather Satyr and father Leukon I. They they also received the prerogative to recruit sailors for ships, and later copper statues of Perisad I, his son Satyr II and Gorgippus, brother of Levkon I (the latter, obviously, as governor in Sindica, from where the lion's share of grain came from) were placed in the agora of Athens and in Piraeus.
Enormous deliveries of grain were ensured by high yields of wheat and other cereals on the fertile lands of the East. Crimea, Taman and Sindiki. Some of the bread was exchanged for goods that came to the local tribes - wine, olive oil, jewelry, expensive dishes, weapons, household items, incense, etc. Extensive ties with the barbarian district, trade with the Mediterranean and rapid economic growth attracted Bosporus of artisans and intermediary merchants. They lived in Panticapaeum, Phanagoria and other cities, fulfilled the orders of the Bosporus, as well as the Scythian and Sindian nobility, supplying them with highly artistic products. Some of these things ended up in royal burials, in particular, in the Seven Brothers burial mounds and Kul-Oba, the burial mound necropolis of Nimfeya, etc.


Hryvnia from the kurgan Kul-Oba

In order to establish active trade relations with the barbarian tribes at the mouth of the Don, within the limits of the local settlement, known in science as the Elizavetovsky settlement, a trading colony of Alopekia arose, and at the beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. a little further to the east, the Bosporan Greeks founded Tanais - the Hellenic emporium, who traded throughout the Lower Don and East. Meotide. Thus, the 2nd half of the 4th c. BC e. became the time of the highest flowering of the B. c., and the archon Perisades I (344-311 BC) for the brilliant and wise rule, as well as the rapid overcoming of the consequences of the devastating war with the Scythians around 328 BC. e., was even equated with the gods.
Income from grain exports, some types of crafts, land holdings were in the hands of the ruling dynasty and its entourage. Part of the profits went to the construction of the fleet and the recruitment of mercenaries into the troops, including Paphlagonians and Thracians. However, the socio-economic structure of B. c. remained a polis. Polis, tyrannical in nature, was the power of the Spartokids: although they called themselves archons (the highest polis magistrates), the Greeks called them tyrants. The power of the ruling dynasty was built on polis landownership, despite the fact that its representatives themselves were landowners and controlled grain exports. Their landed property was regulated by polis laws, and supervision over the harvesting and export of grain was carried out by them not as owners of the land, but as supreme rulers. Polis grain bailiffs ensured that wheat came from the hinterland to coastal towns and fortified settlements, from where it was delivered by ship to Panticapaeum and other large policies of the Bosporus, where it was loaded onto merchant ships and sent overseas. The duties on the value of the cargo were collected by the supreme rulers, who had the right to reduce or cancel them, as well as to bestow proxenia. The land holdings of the Bosporus at that time included the far and near chorus of Panticapaeum, Nymphaeum, Theodosia, Phanagoria, Hermonassa, Gorgippia and other smaller cities, i.e. structurally resembled the agrarian peripheries of the Greek city-states that had extensive land holdings with small towns with their own small rural district, for example, the territory of Tauric Chersonese, Rhodes, Thasos, cities in Magna Graecia and Sicily, etc.
The proclamation of the Spartokids as “kings of the Sinds and all Meots” testified that they considered themselves kings of the tribes that inhabited the lands in the Kuban region. These lands did not fall into the structure of polis landownership, but the power of the archons legally extended to them. Since Sindika and Meotika were previously subordinate to the Scythian and their local kings, the native population saw their successors in the Bosporan archons and therefore traditionally called them kings.


Scythian golden mask.
Zap. Black Sea region.
4th century BC e.

The lands of Sindica, controlled by the Bosporus, were in the possession of local tribal communities, who paid tribute (or sold bread) not personally to the Spartokids, but to the polis authorities of the Bosporus represented by its archons. These lands cannot be classified as “royal”, because the Spartokids were not the owners of the land, but remained polis archons, that is, magistrates-rulers.
A feature of the power of Spartokids was the institution of co-rulers: the tyrant-archon, having received power by inheritance, had to share it with his sons, of whom the eldest, the direct heir of his father, at first acted as his co-ruler in Asian possessions. This form of government persisted until the middle - the 2nd half of the III century. BC e.
Last quarter of the 4th c. BC e. (after the collapse of the power of Alexander the Great and the struggle of his diadochi for power, and then the creation of the Hellenistic kingdoms) was marked by the strengthening of centralized government and the foreign policy positions of B. c. After the death of Perisad I, his sons began an internecine struggle, which ended in the victory of Eumelus (310-304 BC). He managed to get rid of rivals, seriously shake the traditional institution of co-government, retain Sindika, the main granary of the Bosporus, ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea and strengthen his position in its basin, and achieve a strong position of the Bosporus in the system of Hellenistic states, preventing it from being absorbed by new rulers. . The question of turning the archon's power into a royal one, in order to adequately defend their interests, inevitably arose on the agenda. The need to strengthen the sovereign power was also dictated by the aggravation of the situation in the North. The Black Sea region in connection with the activation of the Scythians due to the frequent raids of the Sarmatian nomads on the Azov steppes and even Taurica. The first of the Spartokids officially took the royal title of Spartok III (304-284 BC). Spartoc III took a number of measures to resume the supply of grain to Athens.
Interruptions in the grain trade caused an aggravation of the internal situation. Part of the Bosporan and local elite openly expressed dissatisfaction, and the Athenians had to support the new Bosporan ruler. However, it must be emphasized that the change in the title of the Spartokids, who were called kings, was not the result of a change in the social and economic basis of the regime. It remained polis and tyrannical, fueled by the economic resources of the choras of the Bosporan cities and lands inhabited by local tributary tribes. At the same time, the last category of land was constantly decreasing, since many subject tribes now and then left the subordination of the B. c., for example, the Scythian farmers who lived in communities on the chorus of the European Bosporus, and the Meots in Sindik. In order to keep fertile lands and successfully resist the intensified in the III-II centuries. BC e. As a result of the aggressions of the Sarmatians and Satarchs who settled near Meotida, the Bosporan rulers built new fortified settlements and estates in the choir and resettled the former agricultural population in them, who were forced not only to grow bread, but also to carry out military guard service.
But even such measures did not help alleviate the sharp decline in the grain trade in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e., caused by a number of objective reasons: the decline in the power of Athens, the emergence of new grain exporters in the Aegean, the general crisis of the polis system and the reduction of fertile lands subject to policies, the decrease in trade with the steppe as a result of ethno-political changes in the interfluve of the Don and Dnieper (due to the movements of the Sarmatians, who also settled and in the Kuban region). And although handicraft activity and internal trade in the Bosporus did not weaken, the decline in agriculture, the basis of the kingdom's economy, manifested itself more and more clearly.


Royal mound. Kerch. 4th century BC e.

The Bosporan kings tried to maintain the high international prestige of their state: they established an exchange of ambassadors with the Ptolemaic Egypt, made offerings to the pan-Hellenic sanctuaries and temples on Delos, in Didyma, Delphi, Miletus, Claros, etc. However, the leading role in the grain trade was irretrievably lost. The situation was aggravated by the need to pay an annual large tribute to the Sarmatians, who had mastered almost all the lands in the East. Meotide to protect yourself from their intrusions. The sharp decline in income from trade made the payment of this tribute extremely onerous. To counterbalance the Sarmatian threat, which intensified by the 1st half of the 2nd c. BC e., the Spartokids entered into an alliance with the growing power of the Scythian kingdom in the Crimea. This weakened the position of the Bosporus rulers in the eyes of their subjects, especially the Hellenes, because the Scythians, many of whom now lived in Panticapaeum and even intermarried with the Spartokids, were at any moment ready to establish a protectorate of the Scythian kingdom over the Bosporus and overthrow the decrepit tyrannical regime.
The trade, handicraft and agricultural elite of the Bosporan Greeks was looking for a way out of the catastrophic situation. Taking advantage of the fact that by the end of the II century. BC e. increased in the Black Sea region Kingdom of Pontus, she ensured that Perisades V, the last ruler of the Spartocid dynasty, around 111 BC. e. voluntarily transferred power to the Pontic king Mithridates Evpator.


Mithridates Eupator as Hercules.
1st century

Just in these years, the army of the latter, under the command of the strategist Diophantus, successfully fought with the Scythians in the Crimea and liberated Tauric Chersonese from them. B.'s transfer of c. Mithridates opened new era in his history.
Mithridates Evpator considered Sev. Black Sea region and especially B. c. as the most important part of their state, from where it was possible to draw resources, mainly bread, for the tribal kingdom, which was preparing for long and bloody wars with Rome for dominance in the East. Mediterranean and Asia Minor. The Bosporus was declared the hereditary possession of Mithridates and officially came under the authority of the Pontic king as the adopted heir of the last Spartocides. However, at first Mithridates had to rely solely on the material resources of the polis choir of Panticapaeum, Phanagoria and Gorgippia, depleted by previous cataclysms. He managed to get the opportunity to supply grain from more extensive lands only after victories in the Kerch Strait over the barbarians at the turn of the 90-80s BC. e., and especially after the first war with Rome in 89-85 BC. e., when the northern Black Sea tribes sided with him. The chora of the Bosporan cities in the form in which it has been preserved since the time of the Spartokids could not provide Mithridates with the necessary amount of grain, therefore, after expanding the area of ​​the Bosporan lands subject to him, inhabited by barbarian farmers, he, following the example of the Hellenistic states, declared himself the supreme owner of the land and appointed him to Bosporus of their governors. This made it possible to start creating royal land domains there, which coexisted with a limited chorus of large Greek policies.
To expand the volume of royal lands and grain supplies, Mithridates and his governors needed the support of the barbarians: Sarmatians, Achaeans, Heniochs, Zigs, Meots and Taurus-Scythians who lived on the former Bosporan lands and along the borders. He defeated some of these tribes, and then began to recruit for service in the troops, providing the tribal elite with trophies and booty, and ordinary community members with land on which they naturally settled. This was beneficial to the trade and craft stratum in the Greek cities, which under the rule of the Pontic king and his deputies established a mutually beneficial trade exchange with the barbarians. The most convenient form of protection for policies and their choras, as well as royal domains, was the system of military-economic settlements such as katoykiy and cleruchic created following the example of the Hellenistic states. Their inhabitants were engaged in agriculture and military affairs, receiving a monetary reward for this.
The unbearable tax burden and Mithridates' reliance on the barbarian periphery led to a powerful uprising. Having taken refuge in the capital of the Bosporus, Mithridates committed suicide (63 BC). As a result of the uprising, his son came to power Farnak, and Phanagoria, the first to oppose the Pontic king, became independent. Declared a “friend of the Romans” for betraying his father, Farnak in 48 BC. e., in the midst of a civil war between Caesar and Pompey, with the support of the Sarmatians, invaded with an army the possessions of the Romans and their allies in Asia Minor, in the hope of restoring the power of his father. Shortly before this, he subjugated Phanagoria, which again entered the B. c. However, defeated by Caesar at the Battle of Zela in 47 BC. e. was forced to retreat to the Bosporus, where he soon fell in battle with Asander, whom he had previously left as governor.
Asander broke away from Pharnaces and declared himself an independent ruler, taking the title of archon and then king. Under Asandra B. c. reached economic and military power, since at that time the formation of the Hellenistic system of royal land tenure and fortified settlements and katoiki was completed, it was possible to attract the Greeks, as well as the Sarmatian tribes (Siraks and Aorses), into allies. The latter are increasingly being introduced into state power by influencing politics and cultural traditions.
Despite external independence, B. of c. fell into the orbit of influence of Rome, since Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian August relied on him in their Eastern policy. For these purposes, the Romans considered it important to neutralize the Sarmatian nomads, who posed a threat to their interests in the Caucasus and Asia Minor, and also to eliminate the system of military-political administration based on royal land ownership and military-economic settlements. This system was the key to the independence of B. c. and concealed the danger of a revival of the Mithridatic policy directed against the interests of Rome. But the Romans failed to achieve their goals. In 45 BC. e. Caesar's henchman Mithridates of Pergamon was defeated by Asander. The same fate befell the Pontic king Polemon I, sent by Augustus and Agrippa to destroy the Mithridatic government structure - in 8-7 BC. e. he fell at the hands of the cathoyk barbarians in the Asiatic Bosporus. As a result of the failures of Roman policy, the structure of government and royal landownership created by Mithridates Eupator, Farnak, Asander, and Dynamia became stronger and B. c. began to develop as a typical Linistic state formation. The active functioning of the choras, the rise of the economy in the cities, the restoration of trade relations with Asia Minor, mainly with the Roman province of Bithynia-Pontus, the involvement of the Sarmatians as katoiki and their use to protect the B. c. lands in the Kuban region quickly brought it into the category of the largest states of the Black Sea region.
In the end, the Roman authorities realized that in the interests of the security of their own eastern borders, the military and economic potential of the Bosporus could be used, moreover, in the form in which it was formed under Mithridates and his successors. A strong army, support of the Sarmatians, polis and royal land ownership with the unifying role of the king (the supreme owner of the land and vassal of the Roman Empire) - all this fit into the system of allied and client states in the East that was being created. Powerful B. c. henceforth it was considered as a counterbalance to the Sarmatian threat and an outpost of Roman interests in the Black Sea basin. Therefore, the Romans retained the Hellenistic structure of government and the foundations of the economy of the B. c., but closely watched to ensure that the local kings did not allow recurrences of confrontation with Roman influence. And most importantly, the balance of interests of the Greek elite and the Sarmatian aristocracy should be observed in the Bosporus, and there should be no conditions for aggressive wars against the Romans. To do this, they sent monetary subsidies to the Bosporus, gifts to the Bosporan kings and Sarmatian leaders and their entourage, appointed their representatives at the court of the Bosporan rulers, correcting their policy in the right direction. The Roman Empire approved the Bosporan kings on the throne, granted them the titles of friends of the Roman people and the Roman emperor. Dependence on Rome led to the preservation of c. Hellenistic traditions in the state structure, social relations, culture.
Despite the strong relations of the Bosporus with the Roman Empire and its pro-Roman policy, some kings did not want to put up with comprehensive control over their activities. In 45-49 AD e. King Mithridates VIII decided to rely on the Sarmatians-Syraks and military and economic settlers in the royal choir and limit the influence of urban merchants and artisans who supported the Romans. He openly demonstrated independence, which threatened the entire Black Sea policy of the Roman Empire and the balance of its strategic interests. As a result of direct military intervention, Rome managed to achieve the enthronement of Kotis I, a supporter of close relations with the Roman Empire, and then the defeat of the Siracs and the overthrow of Mithridates. From that time on, Roman influence in the Bosporus became even more significant, and its kings acted as faithful vassals of Rome. They successfully resisted the Alans, regularly paid tribute to the Roman administration, pacified the Sarmatian nomads-Syraks and Aorses, expanded their possessions in the Crimean Scythia, conquering the Taurus-Scythians, and kept the borders on the European and Asian Bosporus intact. With their assistance, an extensive military and bureaucratic apparatus was created, which served the interests of the Greek-barbarian elite and the king, who relied on a powerful army. It consisted of mercenaries, Greek militias, Sarmatian and Meotian cavalry. At the same time, the Romans sent their military units and fleet to the Bosporus only in case of extreme danger to their long-term interests.


Ruins of Hermonassa. Taman Peninsula

B.'s development of c. as a Hellenistic state and control by the Roman authorities of the province of Bithynia-Pontus led to the rapid development of the economy: craft workshops arose in the largest cities of Panticapaeum, Phanagoria, Tiritaka, Gorgippia and others, and the Bosporan urban stratum was actively engaged in agricultural production, trade and crafts. Throughout B. c. new cities and fortresses were built, trade relations with barbarian tribes in the Crimea, the North Caucasus and the Don region were intensified. In the II-III centuries. n. e. the trading emporium in Tanais entered a period of rapid prosperity, merchants from the Bosporus and Roman Asia Minor lived there, as well as Hellenized representatives of the Sarmatian tribes engaged in intermediary trade, for example, in the supply of wine and olive oil in exchange for slaves, bread, skins, fish. At the same time, the apogee of development was reached by Gorgippia, who controlled trade with the tribes of the North. Caucasus. Intensive barter between the eastern Roman provinces, the Bosporus, and the Sarmatian tribes led to an increase in the power of the B. c., which reached its peak by the end of the second and beginning of the third centuries. n. e., when its borders stretched from the South-West. Taurica to the spurs of the Caucasus Mountains. The Bosporan kings acted as such reliable allies of the Romans that they shared influence with them in the Crimea: the southwest of the peninsula remained under the control of the Roman troops and the allied Roman Empire, Tauric Chersonesos, while the central regions and the east fell under the rule of B. c. The heyday of B. c. continued until the beginning of the 2nd quarter of the 3rd century, when, due to the aggravation of the situation on the eastern and Danube borders of the Roman Empire, troops had to be withdrawn from Taurica.
The movements of the barbarian peoples on the Lower Danube, in the Dniester and Azov regions, caused by the arrival of the Germanic and Celtic tribes, as well as the activation of the Alans, violated the relations of the Bosporus with the Sarmatian world and the Roman authorities of Asia Minor and the North Balkan provinces. In the middle of the III century. Gothic and other Germanic tribes settled in the Bosporus and in the vicinity of Meotida, destroyed Tanais and Gorgippia and weakened the power of Panticapaeum, Phanagoria, Hermonassa.


Remains of the Tanais fortress at the mouth of the Don

The ruling Bosporan dynasty was forced to give up its positions, transferring part of its power to representatives of the Goth-Alanian nobility. During almost the entire 2nd half of the 3rd c. the Bosporans, together with the Goths and the Sarmatian-Alans, took part in predatory campaigns against the Roman provinces of Asia Minor, plundering trading cities and bringing rich booty with them. However, the military and political power of the Bosporus was a thing of the past, which was used by the Romans and the allies of Chersonesus. At the beginning of the IV century. in retaliation for the predatory campaigns against the Roman provinces and Chersonese, they militarily seized from the Bosporans most of their Crimean possessions, while the Goths entrenched themselves in the North. Caucasus and East. Meotide.
The weakened kingdom, torn apart by the struggle for power of various groups, subjected to attacks by the Sarmatians and Germanic tribes, still held on - the last coins of its kings date back to the beginning of the 40s of the 4th century. However, around the middle of the 4th c. Under the blows of the Hunnic tribes who came from the east, the B. c., which had a history of more than a thousand years, ceased to exist as a politically organized entity, although some of its enclaves soon revived. But it was already a different era and a different state.

Lit.: Gajdukevič V. F. Das bosporanische Reich. Berlin/Köln, 1971; Anokhin V. A. History of the Cimmerian Bosporus. Kyiv, 1999; Saprykin S. Yu. Bosporan kingdom at the turn of two eras. Moscow, 2002. S. Yu. Saprykin.

The Bosporan kingdom arose in the 5th century BC. e. as a result of the unification of the Greek colonial cities (Fanagoria, Gorgippia, Kepa, Patus, etc.) under the rule of the hereditary rulers of the Bosporus from the Archeanaktids (480-438 BC). The city of Panticapaeum became the capital of the Bosporus kingdom (now Kerch). The greatest expansion of the territory of the Bosporan kingdom occurred during the reign of Spartacid dynasty , which arose from the first archon of the Bosporan kingdom Spartocus I (438 BC-433 BC)

In the works of ancient Greek literature, the name is known Pardokas - Παρδοκας - Scythian policeman from the comedy of Aristophanes. The historian Bladize reads the Scythian name Pardokas as Spardokas - Σπαρδοκας or Spardakos - Σπαρδακος, and considers this name identical to the Latin name Spartacus - Spartacus - Spartacus.

During the reign of the archon Bosporus Satyr I (407-389 BC), the lands were annexed to the Bosporan kingdom southeastern coast of Crimea, the cities of Nimfeya, Heraclea, Feodosia. The heirs of the Spartokid dynasty began to call themselves "archons of the Bosporus and Theodosius" from 349 BC.

During the reign of the Bosporus King Leukon I (389 -349 BC) The Bosporus kingdom managed to subdue the local tribes living on the coast of Miotida (Sea of ​​Azov) and on the shores of the Taman Peninsula. King Levkon I, became known as "basileus of all Sinds and Meots, archon of the Bosporus and Theodosius."

Along the banks Myotids (Sea of ​​Azo) lived myots, Sarmatians and Sinds. Syndica, that is, the lands of the Kuban River basin and part of the Northern Black Sea region were called the land of the Sinds. Name Kuban river comes from the ancient Greek word "Gopanis" (Gipanis) - "horse river", "violent river".

From the end of the 2nd century BC. e. The Bosporan state joined the Pontic kingdom (Pontus), which occupied in 302-64. BC. vast territories on the southern coast of the Black Sea in Asia Minor.

The heyday of the power of the Bosporus state is associated with the name of the Pontic , who ruled in 121 - 63 BC. e.

Believing in your power and invincibility of your army, Mithridates IV Evpator began to fight with the Roman Empire.
As a result three Mithridatic wars with Rome (89-84; 83-81; 74-64 BC) The Bosporan and Pontic kingdoms were incorporated into the Roman Empire and became Eastern Roman provinces in 64 BC.

At the end of the 4th century BC, fierce internecine wars began in the Bosporus kingdom between his sons Perisad I. In the struggle for the royal throne princes Satyr, Eumel and Prytan involved the inhabitants of the Bosporan cities and nomadic tribes in a bloody internecine war. The entire Kuban region, and possibly the Lower Don, became the territory of hostilities.

Basileus (king) of all Sinds and Meots from 310 BC. e.-304 BC e. became archon of the Bosporus and Theodosius Evmel son of Perisades I.
Having reigned on the throne of the Bosporus, he was forced come to terms with the presence of Roman troops in some cities. The next century and a half became a time of relative stability and calm in the Northern Black Sea region, an era of economic prosperity for the Bosporan cities, an era of their gradual settlement by the Sarmatians. Know the Sarmatians and ordinary nomadic Sarmatians began to settle in the Bosporan cities. Some of the Sarmatians were able to reach high positions in the Bosporan administration, for example, the Sarmat Neol became the governor of Gorgippia.

At the end of the II and the first half of the III centuries. AD most city posts in Tanais occupied by non-Greeks or descendants of Greeks from mixed marriages. Names have changed ruling dynasties Bosporus, among the Bosporus kings, rulers are known who wore name Savromat (Sarmatian)

The Bosporus state existed until the 4th century AD. and fell under the onslaught of the invasion of the Huns.

The World History. Volume 4. Hellenistic period Badak Alexander Nikolaevich

Bosporan kingdom in the III-I centuries. BC uh

Similar features with the Hellenistic states of Asia Minor - Pergamum, Bithynia, Cappadocia, Pontus - are found by the Bosporus state, which included both Hellenic policies and territories inhabited by local tribes. The number of policies in the central part of the Bosporus was quite large: not only such large cities as Panticapaeum, Phanagoria and Theodosia, but also less significant ones - Nymphaeum, Tiritaka, Mirmekiy, Germonassa - had a policy device. Part of the Hellenic population of the policies were landowners, but the population of the Bosporan cities was mainly engaged in crafts and trade. The leading role was played by merchants and owners of handicraft workshops. The population living outside the polis territories - Scythians, Sinds and Meots - was engaged in agriculture.

The Bosporan kingdom reached its greatest political power in the second half of the 4th century. BC e. under Perisade I (334/43-310/09). The possessions of the Bosporus covered at that time the Kerch Peninsula up to Feodosia inclusive, the Taman Peninsula with the coastal strip adjacent to it, the lower reaches of the Kuban and its tributaries closest to the mouth. At the mouth of the Don, the Bosporus belonged to Tanais. The tribes living along the northern and eastern shores of the Sea of ​​Azov recognized the hegemony of the Bosporus. From that time on, wars between the Bosporus and the Scythians stopped for many years.

The Bosporus of this time becomes the center of local crafts. In the Scythian burial mounds of the end of the 4th century. BC e. artistically made vessels, plates sewn onto clothes, parts of a harness were found. All this is made of gold and silver with an ornament that testifies to the local origin of these items.

Close ties with the surrounding tribes, trade with the Scythians served as a powerful incentive for the development of handicraft production. In exchange for products of the Bosporan craft, the Scythians, Sinds, Meots and Sarmatians brought bread to the Bosporus, drove cattle, brought slaves. Livestock products were consumed mainly locally, bread was exported to the Mediterranean.

The development of trade contributed to the increase in the international significance of the Bosporus in the 4th-1st centuries. BC e. Therefore, the Bosporan dynasts tried in every possible way to patronize trade and increase the export of grain. Their powerful fleet guarded the trade routes on the Black Sea from the Taurians and the peoples of the western coast of the Caucasus, who were engaged in piracy.

Slaves were a special article of the Bosporan export to the Mediterranean. The export of slaves increased significantly in comparison with the previous period. Constant wars between the nomads contributed to the influx of slaves to the Bosporus, mainly from among the prisoners of war, whom the nomads willingly sold to Hellenic merchants. A certain role in the increase in the number of slaves in the Bosporus and the corresponding growth in the slave trade could also be played by the victorious wars of the Bosporus Spartokids, which were fought during the 4th and the first half of the 3rd century. BC e.

In the first half of the III century. BC e. internecine wars for power begin between the sons of Perisad I.

One of them, Eumel, who emerged victorious from this struggle, was forced to make an agreement with the Panticapaeum aristocracy. He convened a people's assembly and proclaimed the restoration of the "patristic polity", that is, the ancient polis system. At the same time, the inhabitants of Panticapaeum received the atelius (freedom from duties), which they once enjoyed, and exemption from taxes.

Spartok III - the successor of Eumelus (304/03-284/83) - has already begun to be called the king, not only in relation to the conquered tribes. This happened under the influence of relevant acts on the part of the Diadochi, who in 306-305 AD. declared themselves kings. The external position of the Bosporus under Spartocus III continues to strengthen. The most important proof of this is the treaty with Athens. The decree that was the result of these negotiations differs significantly from previous Athenian decrees concerning the rulers of the Bosporus. If earlier representatives of the Spartokid dynasty were considered as private individuals, now Spartok is called the king; if earlier it was only about trade, now a formal alliance is being concluded: Athens undertakes to help Spartoc both on land and at sea if someone attacks his power. The agreement, however, was more necessary for Athens than for the Bosporus: if until now the Athenians were guaranteed trading privileges, now Spartok got off with an indefinite promise "to do the best for them."

The connections of the Bosporus with Egypt, Rhodes and Delos are strengthened under Perisad II (284/83-after 252). In one Egyptian papyrus, the news of the arrival of Perisad's ambassadors to Egypt (254/53) has been preserved. The highly developed trade between the Hellenistic states and the coast of Pontus contributed to the strengthening of political ties.

The decline of the Bosporus begins in the second half of the 3rd century. From coins, stamps on tiles made in the royal workshops, fragmentary literary references and random inscriptions, the names of individual rulers are known, but it is not possible to establish their chronological sequence.

The Spartokid dynasty ruled in the Bosporus until the end of the 2nd century BC. BC e., perhaps with some interruptions, but the royal house was torn apart by civil strife.

Figured polychrome vessel in the form of a sphinx. From a burial in Phanagoria. Attic work from the end of the 5th c. - beginning of the 4th c. BC e.

Since that time, the decline of the Bosporan kingdom begins.

The fight against the Scythians and Sarmatians was hampered by the reduction of the Bosporan trade at the end of the 2nd century. The decrease in the income of the Bosporan rulers did not allow them to keep a large mercenary army. In addition, funds were needed to buy off neighbors and even pay tribute to them at times. All this affected the internal situation of the kingdom.

By the end of the II century. the situation became so aggravated that one could expect a joint action of slaves and dependent peasantry against the ruling nobility of the Bosporan cities. The change in the political situation forced the ruling circles of the Bosporus to turn to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Evpator. As a result of negotiations between both parties, an agreement was concluded, according to which the Bosporan king Perisades V “voluntarily” transferred his power to Mithridates.

This agreement sparked an uprising led by a group of Scythian slaves belonging to King Perisad. The leader of the uprising was the Scythian Savmak.

One of the first actions of the rebels was the proclamation of Savmak as king. Thus they organized their own kingdom.

Savmak's uprising threatened Mithridates with the loss of his possessions and influence in the Northern Black Sea region. Within a few months, Mithridates prepared the fleet and the land army and, in the spring of 107 or 106 BC. e. sent him under the command of Diophantus to the Crimea.

The rebels did not have enough military force to repel the attack of Diophantus. Their fierce struggle is evidenced by traces of great destruction at the end of the 2nd century. BC e .: the struggle took place on the streets of the city even after the city fortifications were captured by Diophantus. Diophantus executed many participants in the uprising. Savmak was captured alive and sent to Mithridates in Sinop, where he was also executed.

A significant part of the Black Sea coast after the suppression of the uprising Savmak was under the rule of Mithridates. The subjugation of the Bosporus and other states of the Black Sea region to Mithridates involved them in the orbit of the largest events that took place on Pontus in the first third of the 1st century BC. BC e.

Economic ties with the Pontic kingdom were significantly strengthened. This led to the fact that the former links with the trading centers of the Aegean basin were significantly reduced. A well-known role in increasing the export from the Northern Black Sea region to the Southern was played by the supply of bread and other food items to the Pontic kingdom, which was devastated by wars. However, this intensive export did not so much contribute to the development of the productive forces of the Northern Black Sea region as it led to the depletion of its economy. Numerous taxes that the population of the Black Sea region had to pay to the tsar led to the same result.

All this was the reason for the growth of anti-Pontic sentiments among the Bosporan population. Already at the end of the first war between Mithridates and Rome, in 83, the Bosporus restored its independence.

Mithridates managed to subjugate the Bosporus only in 80 BC. e.

In 63 BC. e., after the death of Mithridates, Farnak came to power. The dissatisfaction of the Bosporan nobility with the wars with Rome, which Farnak waged for his father's inheritance, led the local nobility to put forward the noble Bosporan Asander as a counterweight to Farnak, declaring him king. However, the rule of Asander did not ease the political tension and did not stop the economic decline that the Bosporus was experiencing. However, from the middle of the 1st c. BC e. the Romans began to intervene more and more actively in the internal political life of the Bosporus, having appreciated the strategic importance of the Northern Black Sea region in the course of the struggle against Mithridates.

The interweaving of Hellenic and local elements in the material and spiritual culture of the Bosporus was especially pronounced in artistic crafts.

On metal products, along with general plots of a purely ornamental nature, plots related to the life and religion of the Scythians begin to be reproduced in a conventional late Ionian or late Attic style.

The most famous and rich mounds of the Scythian steppes are full of monuments of this kind. Such are Kul-Oba and the mound Pationioti near Panticapaeum, Chertomlyk and Solokha on the Lower Dnieper, mounds on the Middle Don. They basically coincide in time with the heyday of the Bosporan kingdom.

A special school of artists that existed in Panticapaeum and other cities of the Bosporus in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e., produced for the Scythian, Sindian and Meotian nobility artistic objects that met her tastes and reproduced her usual way of life. The achievements of this school are very significant. Scenes of Scythian life were interpreted here with great realism.

Bosporan craftsmen reached a high level in the production of ceramics, which testifies to artistic originality local production. Especially interesting are terracotta figurines and vessels with bright polychrome painting (watercolor vases), the production of which dates back mainly to the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e.

The symbiosis of various ethnic elements also influenced religious ideas. The Ionian settlers brought with them to Panticapaeum and Phanagoria their ancient cults, among which the cult of Apollo stood out in particular. However, along with this, they adopted cults of local significance, which underwent only superficial Hellenization and which, as the role of local elements in the Bosporus strengthens, become predominant.

Among the local cults, a particularly important role was played by the cult of the supreme female deity, which corresponded to the Asia Minor great mother of the gods, the "mistress of animals." Rich and revered sanctuaries of this goddess were scattered throughout Sindika. She was called either Aphrodite Apatura (in Phanagoria), or Artemis Agrotera (on the Tsukur estuary).

Poetry gained a certain development in the Bosporus, as evidenced by the verses that come across on the Bosporan tombstones. Numerous Scythian short stories, vividly depicting local living conditions, had a Bosporan origin. They spread throughout the Hellenistic world (some of them were found even in Egypt, both on papyri and potsherds) and influenced Greek literature.

The Bosporus had its own historiography, which had a court character: it is possible that it is to this historiography that the story of Diodorus Siculus about the Spartocids ultimately goes back, as well as some individual news that has been preserved by other authors.

In the IV-III centuries. The Bosporan state is flourishing. This was reflected in the territory of subject tribes. A significant number of settlements, the remains of which were found on the Taman Peninsula and along the lower reaches of the Kuban, arise precisely at this time.

That important role played by the Bosporus in the life of the Hellenistic world is associated not only with the Hellenic colonists who settled on the shores of the strait connecting Pontus and Meotida, but also with the indigenous inhabitants of the nearby regions.

The history of Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean since the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great begins to be more and more intertwined with the history of the peoples of Transcaucasia, which has become more and more involved in international trade. Communication with the outside world was carried out through the ports of Colchis, in particular through Phasis. The heyday of Dioscurias belongs to the same time. Timosthenes, navarch of Ptolemy Philadelphus, speaks of Dioscuriades as a flourishing trading city, where up to 300 tribes converged for trade. This figure is clearly exaggerated, but even if it is reduced to 70, as Strabo does, it will still remain significant enough and shows that Dioscurias was a major trading center. In these cities, the role of local elements greatly increases, as a result of which the Greek colonies during the 3rd-2nd centuries. are gradually changing their character, turning to a large extent into local urban centers. During the III-II centuries. the active minting of colchic women continues, which are widely used throughout Western Georgia.

On significant political changes in Colchis in the III century. BC e. evidence of changes in the nature of monetary circulation. Along with the former Colchis, gold coins appear, which are imitations of the coins of the Hellenistic kings. These changes in coinage are interpreted in different ways. Proponents of the theory of the early formation of the state in Colchis believe that at this time the relatively unified kingdom of Colchis began to disintegrate and the rulers of certain regions were moving to new forms of coinage. Opponents of this point of view, who believe that Colchis was previously minted by Phasis, think that the appearance of new forms of coinage indicates the emergence of a number of primitive states in Colchis during this period. By the 3rd century include gold staters, which are imitations of the staters of Lysimachus and were minted by King Akoy, who was the ruler of one of the states that existed on the territory of Colchis. The kingdom of Aki was located in the region of Dioscurias and included the regions located to the north of it, where the tribes lived, who no longer spoke Kartvelian dialects, but the languages ​​of another branch of the Caucasian family.

In the II century. Colchis was divided into a number of skeptuchii (i.e., the possessions of the skeptukhs, "sceptron-bearers"). Researchers believe that the skeptukhs were the leaders of individual tribes of Colchis. However, the meaning of the term "skeptukh" is not entirely clear, since Greek authors apply it to tribal leaders, kings, military leaders, and court dignitaries (in particular, at the Achaemenid court). This gives grounds for other researchers to believe that the skeptukhs were originally local dynasts - the rulers of certain regions of Colchis or the governors of the Colchis king, who eventually achieved almost complete independence.

In the 1st century BC e. King of Pontus Mithridates VI Eupator annexes Colchis to his possessions. For the Kingdom of Pontus, Colchis was important for its ship timber; in addition, Colchis was famous for flax, wax and resin were mined here; the Colchians themselves were skilled sailors. In 83 BC. e. the Colchians, together with the Bosporans, tried to overthrow the Pontic dominion, but this attempt was not successful.

The formation of an independent Iberian state at the beginning of the III century. BC e. is attributed to Pharnabazus, which is mentioned in the Georgian chronicle "Conversion of Georgia" and the well-known set of ancient Georgian chronicles "History of Georgia".

The results of the study of burials in clay jars in the Samtavra necropolis located north of Mtskheta indicate that the population gradually switched from cattle breeding to agriculture. At the same time crafts and trade developed.

Strabo preserved information about the social structure of Iberia in relation to the 1st century BC. BC e ... According to Strabo, the entire population of Iberia was divided into four "kinds of people", that is, four social groups. The first "kind of people" is the one from which kings are chosen. Along with members of the royal house, it also included royal confidants, who, as in Achaemenid Persia and in many Hellenistic states, were called "relatives" of the king, that is, the secular nobility - eristavs. The second "kind of people" were priests, who, according to Strabo, concentrated external relations in their hands. The third "kind of people" consisted of warriors and farmers; they were free Iberians, engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding and, at the call of the king, went to war. The fourth "kind of people", which Strabo defines by the term "laoi", were dependent farmers who sat on royal land. Strabo calls them "royal slaves", but in this case the term "slaves" should not be taken in the literal sense of the word; these Laoi lived in large families, and perhaps in clans, and the relatives jointly owned the land. Such a family was headed by the oldest, who disposed of the common property. The position of the Laoi in Iberia resembled that of the Laoi in neighboring Asia Minor, as well as the corresponding categories of the peasantry in other Hellenistic countries.

Changes in the prevailing conditions of life are dictated by the developed trade. Navigation arose on the most significant rivers, the country was covered with a network of roads and bridges, cities appeared with powerful fortress walls, houses with tiled roofs, markets, public buildings and water pipes; these cities become centers of crafts and trade. Such cities in Iberia were its capital Armazi and Mtskheta, Sevsamora and others.

The tribes that lived in the mountains of the Caucasus were partly dependent on the Iberian kings, partly retained their independence. The high-mountain tribes, whose typical representatives were the Svans (who have retained their name to this day), continued to live in a primitive communal system. The Svans were led by a military leader and a council of 300 people. There was no permanent army; if necessary, all the Svans went to war.

Another independent kingdom arises in the III century. BC e. in the territory of South Azerbaijan. Its founder is considered to be the Persian satrap Atropat, one of the few governors of Asian origin who retained power by the time of Alexander's death. On behalf of Atropates, who became the ancestor of the local dynasty, this area received the name Media Atropatena. The name "Atropatena", distorted by the Arabs, formed the basis of the modern name "Azerbaijan".

The Albanian tribes that inhabited this land, in their origin, belonged, like the Iberians, to the Caucasian group of peoples and later had many similarities with the Iberians in culture and social order.

Part of the population of Albania was engaged in agriculture - arable farming, horticulture and especially viticulture. But agriculture was at a low level, the land was cultivated with a crude wooden plow. Most of the Albanians were engaged in cattle breeding and led a nomadic lifestyle in the vast steppes along the lower reaches of the Kura. Strabo reports that the Albanians conducted only barter trade, almost did not use coins, did not know either exact measures, or weights, or numbers over a hundred. The 26 Albanian tribes were loosely connected and each had a distinct dialect.

However, based on the results of archaeological excavations, Strabo's messages about the primitiveness of agriculture and the entire way of life of the Albanians should be significantly amended. So, in the Yaloilu-Tapa area, ancient burials dating back to the 4th-1st centuries BC were discovered. BC e., the inventory of which already speaks of a settled way of life of the population, engaged in agriculture and sheep breeding.

Numerous settlements and canals found in the Mugan steppe, near the village of Jafarkhon, indicate that in recent centuries AD in the waterless Mugan steppe, significant irrigation work was carried out. Ceramics found in the so-called jug burials of Mingachevir and the Mil steppe (II century BC-II century AD) was made on a potter's wheel and has a good firing. Remains of several ceramic furnaces of rather complex design were found. There are glass vessels. The inhabitants of these regions were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. They cultivated flax and made thin linen from it. From domestic animals, in addition to goats, sheep and cows, pigs were also bred - an animal unsuitable for nomadic cattle breeding. The high quality of handicraft products indicates not only that handicraft has already largely separated from agriculture, but also a certain differentiation in handicraft production.

The coins of Lysimachus found on the territory of Albania, the presence of a potter's wheel, the relatively early use of iron in Albania - all this also indicates that, in general, Albania was not very far behind Iberia.

The Albanian tribal union was the basis for the emergence in the middle of the 1st century. BC e. states in Albania. At this time, the Albanians already have an army separated from the people. The presence of heavy cavalry indicates significant social stratification. In the sources of the 1st c. n. e. Albanian kings are mentioned along with the kings of the Medes and Iberians. The Albanian king lived in the fortification of Kabalak (not the territory of later Shirvan). At the turn of our era, cities appear in the country, the development of which falls mainly in the next period.

The high priest, who was considered the second person in Albania after the king, was the head of the temple principality, which was formed in the most economically developed agricultural part of Albania. The sacred land, which was under the control of the high priest, was densely populated. Temple servants (hyerodules) lived here, working for the temple. The religion of the Albanians was a combination of local cults (mainly the cult of nature and heavenly bodies, of which the Moon was especially revered) with Zoroastrianism, which had penetrated from Atropatena.

The strengthening of Parthia, the decline of the Hellenistic states, the movement of Sarmatian and Scythian tribes - all this could not but affect the position of the Eastern Black Sea region and the Caucasus. In the North Caucasus, the Sarmatian element is getting stronger. Hellenistic cities along the eastern coast of Pontus from the 1st c. BC e. begin to decline, which was partly due to foreign policy circumstances, partly with the internal socio-political conditions prevailing in Colchis, which were also reflected in the position of these cities.

The contact of the Transcaucasian states with Rome played a significant role in their external position. The peoples of Transcaucasia first encountered the Romans directly during the third Mithridatic War. After the victory over the king of Armenia Tigran II Pompey in 65. BC e. moved against the Albanians. Albanians and Iberians were distinguished by high combat capability. They fought both on foot and on horseback, in armor and lightly armed. Their weapons were spears and bows, in addition to shells, they had shields and helmets made of animal skin. The Romans, who invaded their territory, they offered stubborn resistance. But superiority in military technology ensured the victory of Pompey's troops. The Albanians, having been defeated, made peace. From Albania, Pompey moved to Iberia, where King Artag ruled at that time. The Romans captured Armazi and, breaking the resistance of the Iberians, forced Artag to make peace. After that, the Romans subjugated Colchis.

The establishment of Roman rule in the western parts of Asia Minor began to have a significant impact - direct or indirect - on the position of the peoples of Transcaucasia.

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Bosporan kingdom: a brief historical outline

The Bosporan kingdom is a Greek monarchical formation of the Northern Black Sea region. The history of its origin begins with the appearance of resettlement policies that grew up in the coastal zones of the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea and Taman. These apoikias were erected by Asia Minor and Hellenes from the Aegean Sea.

Among them were democratic republics and policies with an oligarchic form of government. The rich land allowed the newly arrived Greeks to farm, raise livestock, fish and, of course, trade with the metropolis, neighboring tribes and policies. Unifying tendencies arose in the cities, which intensified under the influence of the threat of attacks by the Scythian barbarians. Panticapaeum gradually acquired the status of a metropolitan policy.

According to the ancient writer Diodorus Siculus, the Bosporan kingdom existed from 480 BC. e. It was then ruled by the Archaeanactids - immigrants from Miletus, who managed to hold tyrannical power for 42 years, passing it on by inheritance.

The Archaeanactids were replaced by the Spartokids, who headed the Bosporus kingdom almost until the 1st century BC. BC e. How Spartoc came to power, historians do not know. One can only assume that events like a coup took place. However, we can also assume that there was a voluntary transfer of power.

The first rulers of the kingdom were the archons of the Bosporus. Despite the tyrannical nature of government, the cities of the Bosporus kingdom still had some signs of autonomy. This is confirmed by information about the people's assemblies and councils existing there. In addition, positions in such policies were elective.

The next era of the Bosporus kingdom is associated with the activities of Satir I, Levkon I and Perisad I. They increased the territory of the state (it included the mouth of the Don, the lower reaches of the Kuban and the eastern part of the Sea of ​​Azov), conquered Theodosius, and later the Sindo-Meots and Scythians living nearby.

Economic ties of the Bosporus kingdom The economy of the Bosporus kingdom was based on trade. Initially, his policies cooperated with the settlements of Asia Minor and the Greek islands of the Mediterranean. Then, around the 5th c. BC e., goods began to be transported to Athens. In parallel, there was an exchange with dependent barbarian tribes. Scythians, Meots and Sinds were good suppliers of slaves, and slaves were valued in overseas markets. Hellas supplied the Bosporan Kingdom with wines, olive oil, and craftsmanship. The main commodity of the Bosporus is grain, but besides it, fish, skins, and wool were also imported from overseas. All this the Greeks received thanks to their own labor and the efforts of dependent barbarians who sold the products of agriculture and crafts. In exchange for these goods, the Hellenes gave the tribes items made by local artisans and things delivered by sea. The Bosporus kingdom also had trade relations with Olbia and Chersonese, with the Southern Black Sea region and Eastern Pontus. Toward the end of the VI century. BC e. in Panticapaeum they established the minting of their own money. Later, the issue of coins continued, but it is known that during the economic crisis of the III century. BC e. gold and silver have replaced low quality copper equivalents. After the reform of Levkon II, the situation stabilized. Agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts in the Bosporan kingdom In the state, which actively exported grain crops, special attention was paid to agriculture. Agricultural districts were located around the urban centers, some farmers lived in villages-koms. A lot of cereals were grown on the Scythian sites and on the lands of the Sindo-Meots. The inhabitants of ancient settlements used the plow method and a two-field tillage system. They grew crops such as wheat, barley, vetch, lentils, and millet. The Greeks also grew legumes, alternating them with cereals. Viticulture brought tangible profit. In the Bosporan kingdom, cattle were kept, with the help of which they cultivated the land. Artisans of the Bosporan kingdom reached a high level of skill. Especially in woodworking and stonework construction. They knew how to make ships, houses, furniture, personalized tiles. Local craftsmen skilfully processed metals, many iron and bronze items made in the Greek policies of the Bosporus have been found. Bosporan jewelry was no less striking: jewelry that was attached to clothing or harness, rings, bracelets, etc. Many such items were found in Scythian burials. In addition, the Hellenes knew how to weave, processed the skin on their own, made crafts from bones and, of course, clay products. In the pottery workshops of the Bosporus kingdom, kitchenware, which was distributed among the Greeks and representatives of the tribes subject to them. Bosporan Kingdom: Life, Religion and Cultural Features The entire population of the Bosporus kingdom consisted of three social groups: slaves, the top and the middle stratum (communal peasants, foreigners, people who did not have slaves). The ethnic composition of the state was quite diverse, as it included representatives of barbarian tribes. By the way, many of them managed to occupy high positions in society. The amount of arable land significantly prevailed over urban areas, therefore, among settlements The Bosporan kingdom was attended not only by policies, but also by small villages inhabited by farmers. The cities were opulent. Among them, the most majestic was Panticapaeum: its houses, temples, public buildings were richly decorated, during the construction of the structures located there, the latest technologies for that time were used, and artificial terraces were made. The phenomenon of the Bosporan culture is an artistic craft. There are many scenes from the life of the Scythians on the items made in ancient policies. Probably, things were made to order, and in the Bosporan kingdom there was a whole school of masters who were engaged in this kind of painting. The high level of culture of the Bosporans is evidenced by the developed poetry and theatrical art that they have, which was not inferior to the real Greek. Poems were told to the music and even organized a kind of competition in which the best reciter won. In the Bosporus kingdom they loved lyrics and dances, just like in the Mediterranean cities. With the penetration of the Sarmatians, elements of the traditions of the nomadic Iranian-speaking people began to be traced there. The inhabitants of the Bosporan state revered the gods of fertility. Their deities were of Greek and Eastern origin. Among them are Aphrodite, Apollo, Astarte, Kiberu, Koru, Zeus, etc. In their honor, the Greeks built temples, made sculptures and figurines. To date, two religious complexes of ancient times have been opened: the Nymphaeum sanctuary of Demeter and Apatur in Taman. Thus, the Bosporus kingdom arose in the 5th century. BC e. and lasted until the last decades of the 4th century. n. e. It's eight hundred years old. It was founded by the Archaeanactids, but after some 42 years they were replaced by the Spartocids, who ruled until the 1st century BC. BC e. Satyr I, like his followers, including Perisad I, managed to expand the territories of the monarchy. From the end of the 4th century BC e. barbarians occupied an important place in the life of the kingdom. It all ended with the fact that in the II century BC. e. Hellenes paid tribute to them. At the end of the II century. BC e. The campaigns of Diophantus took place and the Bosporan kingdom became part of the Pontic state. It is known that this stage in the history of the monarchy was marked by an economic crisis. Almost all the money that could go to the development of cities was given to fight against Rome. In the middle of the 1st c. n. e. everything changed: the former enemy of the Bosporan state became its ally, although he could not protect the Bosporans from the devastating raids of the Huns. Despite the efforts of enemies, the economy and culture developed in this state. AT better times the living conditions of the Bosporan citizens resembled those of Rome. INLIGHT